War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 499 A Definite Decision

When the wood on the chimney of the fireplace was covered with two "卌" characters, all the soil in the shelter was finally cleaned up and piled up under a pine tree far away from the shelter.By the way, the skeleton found in the basement was also buried below.

Even Dorian, who has fallen in love with carpentry, stamped a crude cross on the grave bag covered with snow.

In the warm shelter, with the help of Wei Ran and Gail, Dorian dismantled the two drag sleds and cleaned them, and then worked hard to help everyone wash their clothes.Not far from him, Kang Tan was repairing the rusty traps under the oil lamp, hoping that they would work and catch as many prey as possible.

At the entrance of the shelter, Wei Ran and Gail also built a snow wall around the tent that was set up around the pine tree with the remaining canvas to block the fire.

As for the inside of the tent, the bathtub that was dug out before has been placed on several pieces of gravel after being cleaned, and there is even a layer of charcoal glowing with scarlet flames in the gap at the bottom.

In the bathtub filled with hot water, Wei Ran lay comfortably in it, scrubbing his body with a handful of pine branches.He didn't get up until his fingertips were so blistered and wrinkled. He put on his Soviet cloak, wrapped a layer of canvas around his feet, and trotted away from the tent and rushed into the shelter.

"Gal, it's your turn."

Wei Ran shivered and sat on his bed and said, how comfortable it was to take a shower just now, how uncomfortable it is to run back to the shelter from the warm tent.

"Looking at you, I don't want to wash it anymore"

Gail, who was in a better mood, made a joke, picked up a piece of clean canvas that was used as a blanket, and walked out.

"Uncle Kang Tan, are we really going to find Quentin with Gail?"

Almost as soon as the wooden door of the shelter closed, Dorian, who was helping Wei Ran wash his clothes, immediately asked.

"Let's do what's in front of us first." Kang Tan didn't answer directly, but raised the ax in his hand, and struck hard on the red-hot animal trap parts.

"Victor" Dorian looked at Wei Ran hesitantly, with reluctance written on his face.

"At least wait until the clothes are dry and the engine is repaired, right?"

Wei Ran explained vaguely that he had already guessed what Kang Tan was thinking, and that this middle-aged man, who was nearly half a century old, was actually just delaying time.

Selfish?Perhaps it should be called rationality. For the current situation, this is almost the best way to deal with it.

When Gail also rushed back to the shelter wearing a canvas, Dorian handed over the laundry to Wei Ran, who was wearing a Soviet cloak around his waist. Just like Gail just now, he took a small piece Canvas left the shelter.

"Uncle Kang Tan, are you really willing to go to Quentin with me?"

Also at the moment when the wooden door of the shelter closed, Gail, who was shivering by the fireplace, immediately asked the question that had been pent up in his heart.

"At least wait until the half-track is repaired before thinking about it," Kang Tan replied ambiguously. "No matter what decision we make next, we must always plan for the long term."

Gail opened his mouth and wisely didn't ask any more questions.And Wei Ran, who was washing clothes next to him, had some doubts about the guess just now.

When Kang Tan also took a bath, Wei Ran, Dorian and Gail had already hung all the washed clothes by the fireplace, and even reloaded the tow bucket used for washing clothes on the sled to carry them. to the outside.

In the steaming shelter, the four of them sat side by side on the bed facing the fireplace, each holding a glass of potato wine, chatting about interesting things about their respective hometowns.

“Another day goes by”

Kan Tan glanced at his watch, got up and walked to the fireplace, stooped to pick up a firewood with flames, and added a scratch to the wooden board hanging on the chimney.

"keep drinking"

Wei Ran picked up the cup and suggested, "Now that the clothes have been washed, we can't go out even if we want to, why don't we take this opportunity to drink to our heart's content."

"This suggestion is good, but I have a better suggestion." Dorian stood up while speaking.

"What better suggestion?" Wei Ran asked curiously.

"Let's play Belote!"

While speaking, Dorian took out a stack of canvas pieces the size of a cigarette case from the sleeping bag on his bed, "I made them with the leftover canvas, do you want to come and play? How about the loser drinking?"

"Then you have to be careful, I'm an expert at playing this kind of cards!" Kang Tan was the first to say.

"I lost a lot of money because of this game." Gail was also eager to try.

"Well, how does this thing work?" Wei Ran asked blankly.

"You won't?" Dorian asked Wei Ran.

"I've never played cards." Wei Ran spread his hands, asking him to fight the landlord or something, he had never heard of the Belote card that the other party just said.

"Since you haven't played before, you won't be added to the game, but how about you help pour the wine?" Dorian asked with a smile.

"No problem." Wei Ran happily agreed. He originally wanted to get these people drunk, so naturally he would not have any opinions.

Hearing this, Gail got up and placed the kerosene lamp hanging on the wall in the center of the table, and Dorian also began to place the cards made of canvas on the table one by one.

What made Wei Ran even more confused was that there were only 32 of these cards in total. Except for the cards from 2 to 6, there were no kings or kings, and the rest were not much different from serious poker cards.

But the gameplay introduced by the three of Dorian next made him one head and two big. In short, he couldn't understand it at all.

Fortunately, the three of them did not embarrass Wei Ran, and after a brief explanation of the gameplay, they began to deal the cards.And what Wei Ran has to do is just randomly throw out a card that meets the requirements when he needs to play a card.

Although he couldn't understand the game, he had to admit that this kind of game he had never heard of was definitely a fast-paced game. In less than half an hour, a whole bottle of potato wine was drunk by the other three. into the stomach, and the one who drank the most was the self-proclaimed expert Kang Tan.

Another half an hour passed, and Gail and Dorian were already drunk and talking nonsense.

Seeing this, Wei Ran got up on the pretext of adding some firewood to the fireplace, took out the Rollei SLR in the metal book without a trace, adjusted the aperture, and used the cover of his body to cough and press on the three of them. shutter.

"What was that sound just now?" Gail asked in a daze, "Why does it sound like the shutter of a camera?"

"I'm the one coughing." Wei Ran, who had put away the camera, said sincerely, "Gail, you drank too much."

"I really can't drink anymore." Gail waved his hand, stood up unsteadily and walked to the bed not far away.

"Me too. I can't do it either." Dorian stood up and complained as he moved to the bed, "Kantan. Uncle Kantan is indeed an expert, an expert in drinking."

Looking at Kang Tan again, he was already snoring against the wall.

"Oh! Frenchman"

Wei Ran curled his lips, and after Dorian also snored, he blatantly took out his camera again and took another close-up of each of them drunk.

In the end, Wei Ran took a photo of this shelter, and Wei Ran waited for a while, seeing that the metal book did not send him back, so he could only shake his head helplessly, lying on the bed and secretly thinking about what will happen next. something happened.

Before he knew it, Wei Ran also closed his eyes and fell asleep.When he woke up again, the wind and snow outside the door had all stopped.

Although Kantan and Dorian were still snoring, Gail had already woken up and was putting on the pair of bearskin wooden shoes on his feet.

"Are you awake?" Gail glanced at Wei Ran who was already sitting up, "Victor, how about helping me disassemble the engine?"

"Now?"

"Of course" Gail nodded, "Can you?"

"Wait for me to put on my clothes first." Wei Ran said as he walked to the fireplace and put on the warm clothes that were baked on his body.

Finally put on the boots and the gas mask used to keep out the cold, Wei Ran took the submachine gun hanging behind the door, and followed Gail out of the warm shelter.

Together they pulled the sled once used to wash clothes, and took an extra wrist-thick wooden stick. Under the surging aurora, the two walked silently to the lake outside the coniferous forest.

After hiding in the shelter for more than ten days, the footprints they left at the beginning have long been covered by snowfall.

"Surely you don't want to go to Quentin?" Gail said to himself when he was about to walk out of the forest.

Before Wei Ran could speak, Gail continued, "Quentin and I have known each other for a long time. At that time, I was about the same age as Dorian. At that time, he was traveling in the Alps and needed a guide."

"So you became his guide?" Wei Ran asked following the other party's words.

Gail nodded, and continued after a moment of silence, "I didn't live well at that time, and because I was young, no one wanted to hire me, even if the cost of hiring me was only half of others.

It was only Quentin at the time, and he gave me the same commission as everyone else, and allowed me to take some of it in advance to buy enough thick clothes and shoes. "

Speaking of this, Gail glanced at Wei Ran beside him, "That time we encountered an avalanche. Although we were not injured, we were trapped on the mountain for almost a week before we survived. That time Quentin froze a Big toe."

"You guys are so lucky," Wei Ran sighed.

“God bless indeed”

Gail stopped in his tracks, "Even so, Quentin paid the full amount of the employment fee and invited me to work in his restaurant. He said that I wouldn't have to take risks in the Alps every day."

"So you went?"

"Why not?"

Gail spread his hands and explained calmly, "My mother is a gypsy lonely girl, and my father is a famous bad gambler in our area. Even if there are no Germans, not many people think highly of me or are willing to give me a job. .”

"Sorry" Wei Ran said apologetically.

"nothing"

Gail continued to drag the bucket and walked towards the lake, "Working in Quentin's restaurant is the happiest period of time for me. I can eat all kinds of French and German dishes that I can't imagine every day, and I can also wear clothes. Decent clothes, I even have my own shoes and tie, and of course, a suit that Quentin gave me."

"He's such a good man." Wei Ran couldn't help sighing.

"He has a son"

Gail made a comparison with his hands, "Only as high as my knee. When we were arrested, that little guy was just able to walk. I don't know if he is still alive."

"Do you have any ideas about finding Quentin?" Wei Ran asked Gail's back.

"No." Gale paused, "but I'm sure he's still alive, and he must have gone north."

"Since you are so confident, let's go to him when the half-track motorcycle is repaired." This time, Wei Ran made a very sure decision with a very positive tone.

(End of this chapter)